


in my young world

by theafterimages



Series: playground [1]
Category: GOT7, K-pop, KARA (Band), 룸메이트 | Roommate (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 01:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3591087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theafterimages/pseuds/theafterimages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dongwook agrees to cover for his sister’s job baby-sitting Youngji and Jackson.</p>
            </blockquote>





	in my young world

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [here](http://eveninadream.livejournal.com/11198.html) in February 2015.

Dongwook’s family has lived in the Heos’ and Wangs’ neighborhood for almost a year, and his sister Dongju has been baby-sitting their kids for the last few months, but Dongwook’s never met the kids, just sees them playing in the yard sometimes as he drives down the street. Even so, when Dongju asks him to cover her regular babysitting job that weekend, he’s quick to agree. Dongwook’s a university student, after all. He can always use a little extra money. And he’s good with kids. 

The older kids will be at their friend’s house that evening, it turns out, so he’ll only have to watch the two four-year-olds, Youngji and Jackson. “They’re loud, but they’re so sweet,” Dongju had assured Dongwook. “You’ll like them. And they’ll love you.”

So Saturday at 4:30 Dongwook knocks on the Wangs’ front door. He can hear footsteps pounding though the house, and after a few seconds the door is yanked open by a small boy with a full face, who stares up at him.

“Hi,” Dongwook says, smiling as reassuringly as he can. “I’m Dongju’s brother. Are your parents here?”

The boy—Jackson, Dongwook assumes—nods, then turns and runs back through the house. “Mommy,” he yells on his way, “a person is here!”

Laughing to himself, Dongwook takes a quick look around, observing what he can see from the entryway. The house is huge, even bigger than Dongju had described it, and really clean for a house with two little boys living in it. From where Dongwook’s standing he has a good view of the formal dining room and the living room, and both rooms look like they could’ve been featured in the decorating magazines his mom likes to read. 

“Dongwook?” he hears then, and turns as two women enter the room, both dressed up for their evening out. One of them is leading a little girl along with her, who Dongwook recognizes from a few of Dongju’s pictures as Youngji. As soon as Dongwook smiles at Youngji she squeaks and ducks behind her mother.

She stays there for the next few minutes, peeking around her mom’s skirt from time to time to study him with wide dark eyes only to retreat again as soon as they make eye contact, though a few times he catches glimpses of her mouth spreading wide in what looks like silent laughter.

Jackson, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a shy bone left in his body now that their initial meeting is out of the way. When he comes back shortly after, Mr. Wang and Mr. Heo with him, Jackson strides right up to Dongwook and seizes his hand. 

“I can show you my toys!” Jackson announces. “You can play with them, too!”

“In a minute, Jackson,” Mrs. Wang tells him, and although her voice is soft Jackson immediately backs down, swinging Dongwook’s hand for a few seconds before he goes over to his mother’s side, looking up at her adoringly.

The adults only stay for a few more minutes, long enough for the Wangs to give Dongwook all the information he needs about emergency contacts and a loose schedule for the kids for the evening. 

Once the door closes behind their parents, Youngji sniffles, and Jackson’s lower lip is definitely wobbling. Dongwook springs into action. “I thought you were going to show me your toys so we could play,” he reminds them.

Jackson takes one last look at the door, and heaves an enormous sigh—Dongwook somehow manages to bite back a smile—before turning away and taking Dongwook’s hand again. “Okay,” he says.

“Want to play with us, Youngji?” Dongwook offers, holding his other hand out to her. “You guys can show me around the house, too. It’s pretty big. I don’t want to get lost trying to find the bathroom or something.”

Youngji giggles at that and takes his hand. “We won’t let you get lost!”

“No way!” Jackson says firmly. “But toys first, right?”

“Right,” Dongwook assures him, and Jackson sets off, pulling them both along with him.

“Can we play Candy Land?” Youngji asks.

“No, Connect Four!” Jackson insists.

“How about you just show me the toys first,” Dongwook says hastily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the kids lead him into the playroom, Dongwook’s eyes widen in astonishment as he tries to take it all in. There’s a tall bookshelf filled with piles of board games and crates of art and crafts supplies, and another bookshelf with neatly organized children’s books, with two child-sized overstuffed chairs and a beanbag chair nearby. In one corner is an activity table with four chairs, and in another a child-sized plastic stove set and a giant crate filled with plastic food and dishes, a few toy shopping carts. And of course there are two toy boxes and even more toys and stuffed animals scattered throughout the room. There are prints of scenes from Chinese fairy tales on the walls but, he notes with a smile, Batman curtains on the windows.

“Wow,” Dongwook says at last.

“This is just my room,” Jackson tells him. “My brother has a playroom, too, but he doesn’t let me play with his toys.” Youngji shakes her head gravely as if to confirm this. Jackson’s smile dims, then returns full force. “But I can show you, and that’ll be okay!”

“No, let’s just play in here,” Dongwook says quickly, adding, “Is Batman your favorite superhero?” 

As he’d hoped, Jackson seems to immediately forget all about his brother’s playroom. “Yeah, he’s the best! He can beat the Joker, and the Penguin, and _everybody_!”

“He’s the coolest, right?” Dongwook asks, and grins when Jackson nods fervently. “He’s my favorite, too. What about you, Youngji?”

“Superman,” she says. “He can fly.”

“So?” Jackson asks promptly. “Batman beats people up.”

“But he can’t _fly_.”

“He has a car!”

“But flying’s better,” Youngji says stubbornly, folding her arms over her chest.

“They’re both great,” Dongwook says hastily, before the debate can go any further. “You guys know they’re best friends, right?”

“Really?” Youngji asks, wide-eyed.

“Yeah, so they wouldn’t want you to fight over which of them is better, right? They’d both be glad you like their friend.”

“Batman’s best friend is Robin,” Jackson debates, his brow furrowing.

“Superman is his other best friend,” Dongwook says, and Jackson thinks that idea over for a few seconds before he finally nods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that Youngji’s relaxed enough to be as lively and talkative as Jackson, it’s only a few more minutes when Dongwook discovers just how much of an understatement it had been when Dongju had described Youngji and Jackson as loud.

“They’re a handful, but seriously, they’re really cute!” Dongju had said. “You’ll have fun!”

Fun, Dongwook thinks wryly as Youngji and Jackson chase each other in circles around the playroom, screaming bloody murder. Right.

Finally, his eardrums unable to take anymore, he grabs them the next time they run past him, snagging one of them in each hand. “Okay, _enough_ ,” he tells them, and even Jackson's _laugh_ is loud. “Isn’t there something else you guys want to play?”

“Grocery store!” Youngji suggests.

Dongwook sighs in relief. “That sounds like a great idea!” he says encouragingly. Grocery store. What could go wrong with a game like grocery store?

A lot, as it turns out. Jackson and Youngji’s idea of playing grocery store involves both of them racing around to see who can put the most plastic food in their toy carts. This, of course, leads to a huge mess, three collisions, a few shoving matches that Dongwook has to hastily break up, and yelling. Lots of yelling.

“If you don’t stop fighting, I’m gonna make you get married,” Dongwook warns them at last.

He’s immediately pinned by two horror-stricken stares. “I’m not marrying him!” Youngji says in disgust.

“I’m not marrying her!” Jackson insists. “I’m marrying my mom!”

Dongwook finally talks them into sitting down and playing a few rounds of Candy Land. Jackson wins the first one and crows about it until Youngji defeats them both soundly in the second, at which point his face crumples and he storms out of the room. Dongwook can hear him sobbing and running up the stairs.

Youngji and Dongwook look at each other. “Jackson’s bad at losing,” she tells him gravely. 

Even though Dongwook wants to laugh, he does his best to match her tone. “I can see that.”

Youngji’s stomach is growling by the end of the third round, so he sends her upstairs and heads to the kitchen to see what’s for dinner. Even from downstairs he can hear Youngji banging on a door and calling for Jackson to come out and eat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson’s mom left a chicken dish in the fridge, so Dongwook heats up three servings and they eat in the family room so they can watch The Lion King. “Mommy never lets us watch movies during dinner,” Youngji says with awe as they settle in.

Both kids are yawning by the time the movie’s over, Youngji curled up on Dongwook’s lap and Jackson leaning against his side. They both try to claim that they’re not really tired, but Dongwook manages to talk them into getting ready for bed easily enough. 

Dongwook had expected Jackson at least to insist on staying awake, and he does look tempted to. But instead Jackson takes a look at Youngji, who’s staring apprehensively up at the dark upstairs hallway, then squares his small shoulders and takes Youngji’s hand as they go upstairs, Dongwook following behind them.

The upstairs looks like it was professionally decorated, too, but Dongwook notices the same kinds of extra personal touches there that he saw downstairs, too. There are family pictures lining the hallways, and near one end is a collage of newspaper articles and photographs. 

The kids continue on to Jackson’s room, but Dongwook stops in front of the collage for a better look. They’re all of Mr. and Mrs. Wang when they were younger, detailing victories and accomplishments in their respective athletic careers. His sister had mentioned them before, but it wasn’t like she’d given him a list, and he’s amazed by what he sees.

When he gets to Jackson’s room he sees that there are even more pictures all over his room, of Jackson at various ages—with his parents and other adults who must be relatives; with an older boy who looks enough like Jackson that Dongwook assumes he’s his older brother; and a collage of pictures of him and Youngji, ranging from the two of them as babies in their carriers to a very recent-looking one of them at the activity table in the playroom, their hands—and faces—covered in finger paint. 

“You guys have been friends a long time, huh?” Dongwook asks them, smiling when he sees one of them dressed up and hugging each other in front of a Christmas tree.

“ _Best_ friends,” Youngji says, and Jackson nods emphatically.

They’re holding hands again after they’ve fallen asleep, Dongwook discovers when he checks on them a little while later. Youngji’s other thumb is tucked into her mouth and they’re both surrounded by stuffed animals and toys. He smiles at the sight, then double-checks to make sure the night light next to the door is securely plugged in before quietly heading downstairs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the remaining hour before their parents are due home, Dongwook cleans up the dishes, then works on his sociology homework while a Buffy the Vampire Slayer rerun plays. As soon as he hears the garage door open he gathers his books together, and he’s on his feet and able to greet the adults as they enter the house.

“How were they?” Mrs. Heo asks.

“Rambunctious?” he tries, and all four parents laugh.

“Did they go to bed on time?” Mr. Wang asks.

Dongwook nods. “Don’t worry, they’re asleep-“

Which, of course, is when Jackson yells, “Mommy!” and hurtles down the stairs, Youngji on his heels.

Helplessly, Dongwook looks at the adults as Youngji and Jackson fling themselves at their mothers. “They _were_ asleep.” 

“They’re light sleepers,” Mr. Heo assures him.

“Jackson always likes to know when his mom’s home,” Mr. Wang adds.

“You, too!” Jackson protests, hugging him in turn. “Mommy, Daddy, next time Dongju is here can Dongwook be here, too?”

“Please?” Youngji chimes in from her perch in her mom’s arms. “He’s really fun!”

“Maybe you should ask Dongwook,” Mr. Heo tells them.

Youngji promptly turns her big, imploring eyes on Dongwook. “ _Please_?”

“Please please please!” Jackson adds, launching himself at Dongwook now, wrapping his arms around Dongwook’s waist and staring up at him hopefully. “Say yes!”

It’s not like he can say no to _both_ of them. Besides, after tonight Dongwook’s wondering how Dongju ever makes it through these jobs alone, especially if there are usually two more kids on hand. He’s definitely gained a new respect for her.

“Sure, if I’m not at school,” he agrees, ruffling Jackson’s sleep-tangled hair, and both kids cheer.


End file.
